Why Is Al Roker Missing from the 'Today' Show?
The Today Show has had some major absences in the cast this week, including weather anchor Al Roker .
Roker, 70, was absent from the Monday, September 23, and Tuesday, September 24 episodes. The television personality typically appears in the main show with anchors Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie to present the weather forecast before sitting down for Today 3rd Hour, where he co-hosts with Dylan Dreyer , Craig Melvin, and Sheinelle Jones. The popular morning show had Dreyer, 43, fill in with the weather report on Monday and Tuesday.
While the reason for Roker's absence is unknown, Kotb, 60, mentioned the weather presenter was "out on the road." Roker also took to his Instagram story on Monday to post that he would be acting as a moderator for a panel on Tuesday at Moonlight Studios in New York City.
"I'm thrilled to share that I'll be moderating a dynamic panel discussion on the importance of cross-industries collaboration at #climateweeknyc event tomorrow, 9/24," the journalist posted. However, fans can rest assured as Melvin, 45, alerted viewers on Monday's episode of Today 3rd Hour that Roker will return to the show on Wednesday, September 25. "Al is off. He'll be back on Wednesday," Melvin told the audience.
Roker wasn't the only host absent from Today 3rd Hour — on Monday, Dreyer also missed the top of the show. "Dylan's on her way back to the studio... she was over at that science fair this morning," Melvin explained.
Also missing from Monday's episode was Guthrie, 52. No explanation was given for the Today star's absence, as Kotb stated, "Savannah is off this morning," before jumping into the rest of the show.
When Melvin and Jones, 46, sat down for the episode, they joked about how half the cast was missing. "No, don't adjust your sets," Melvin stated. "And then there were two," Jones laughed. Melvin told viewers not to worry as the fan-favorite group of TV presenters would be back together on Wednesday. "Fear not, we will reunite soon," Melvin exclaimed.
Fans didn't have to go too long without Dreyer, as she made it just in time for the 3rd Hour "tradition" of changing the backdrop for the new season. The co-hosts did a countdown together, before the screen behind them switched from a summer backdrop to a fall one.
